


Umbrella

by Tabbynerdicat



Series: Stripesverse [5]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22295959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabbynerdicat/pseuds/Tabbynerdicat
Summary: Henrik is caught in the rain without an umbrella- his colleague Edward offers to escort him home.
Relationships: Henrik von Schneeplestein/Dr. Iplier
Series: Stripesverse [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598143
Kudos: 40





	Umbrella

"Ach- do not tell me… fuck."

Henrik growled something unintelligible under his breath as he searched again through his bag, hoping that he'd simply missed it the first two times. Thunder crashed as the wind howled against the windows, rain splattering against the walls, the lights of the hospital flickering with his every breath. Surely he hadn't forgotten- surely he was smarter than that. Leaving home without an umbrella in this kind of weather? What on Earth had he been thinking this morning?

Or was it… yesterday morning?

He'd been on call for what seemed an eternity at this point, and with most of the power being cut during the storm, he'd had no opportunity to check the time between new patients arriving. There had been a lot of car accidents overnight- not to mention the outbreak of influenza that they'd needed to curb, or the small crying children coming in to be vaccinated. This wasn't his job- he was a surgeon, not a nurse. Yet with a decrease in administration staff who couldn't make it because of the storm, he'd had to step up and take the role.

It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? If it made his very bones ache and his eyes want to snap shut and seal closed forever, it was usually a sign of a good day's work. And he was a good doctor- even if he preferred it when his patients were comatose and generally unresponsive...

"I swear, if I have to valk back in zis veather… hmph. At least I brought a coat..."

"Henrik? What are you still doing here?"

Blinking his weary eyes, he met the gaze of a woman named Helen. She was a paramedic, wheeling in someone who looked relatively fine aside from a wound on their left thigh, though she was frowning at him like he'd done something to disappoint her. What could she possibly be upset with? And… surely, her hair had been in a bun the last time he'd seen her. When had she changed it?

"Zhey insisted I go home," Henrik muttered somewhat bitterly, zipping his bag closed after failing once again to find any trace of his missing umbrella. "Apparently I vas scaring ze patients vith mein tendency to ramble,"

"Well no wonder- you've been here over eighteen hours," Helen fussed, leaving the room briefly to hand over her patient to someone else authorised to distribute painkillers. When she walked back in, she locked eyes with the surgeon as she smoothed out her windswept, dampened hair. Henrik shuddered at the thought of walking back home in this mess, especially without a form of proper shelter...

"I had time to go home and sleep before work, and you're still here…" Helen sighed, shaking her head. "Henrik, you need to stop pulling these late nights. Do you want me to give you a lift home?"

Henrik scoffed at her, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Zat ist unprofessional, Helen- und vhat if you receive a call? Besides, I do not trust ze roads in zis sort of veather. I vill thank you for offering, but I think it is best for me to valk home,"

Helen fixed him with a look that Henrik knew all too well- something motherly and authoritative, effective despite her only being a few years older than him. She folded her arms and tapped her foot, staring him down while he tried his very best to avoid her gaze.

"It's wild out there- you don't want to get caught in that storm on your own. How far is your place?"

"I valk hier every morning, und I valk back each night," Henrik huffed indignantly. "Es ist crucial to maintain healthy exercise patterns- I do not vant to end up on ze other end of ze scalpel, you see? I have valked home in vorse conditions, believe me,"

"Well- why don't you get a taxi?" Helen suggested, looking a little mad that he'd avoided her initial question. It was hardly a straightforward answer- Henrik's home didn't exist in a singular plane of existence. It changed, moving dynamically depending on the state of his native realm. Crossing out of his own house to be among regular people, to invest his time in doing good… really, he only had himself to blame for being in this predicament. He could have chosen to remain in their little pocket of the world, with the others who never left. Marvin, Robbie, and Anti...

"I do not trust motor vehicles," Henrik scoffed, flinching barely at a particularly loud clap of thunder that seemed to rattle the walls. "Zhey are big, und heavy- hard to control. I vould rather trust mein own two feet to take me vhere I need to go. Besides, zis storm ist tampering vith the quality of ze roads. I appreciate your efforts, but… I really must be going. Mein family needs me,"

"Of course," Helen sighed, clearly admitting defeat. They'd had this argument, over and over… it always ended the same. Henrik was obsessed with doing good, almost to the point of insanity- it frightened some of his colleagues, the way he often seemed he had nothing to return to. Yet, he did have a family- a large one from what Helen had heard.

I wonder what they do without him, when he spends so many hours working here…?

"Have a nice Friday, Helen," Henrik sighed as he donned a thicker coat, making his way out the door.

"Saturday," Helen corrected, freshly concerned. "It's… it's Saturday, Henrik. It's nearly 4PM."

Henrik stiffened for a moment, before deciding not to acknowledge her response. Saturday… where had the hours gone?

"I… I vill see you tomorrow," Henrik eventually replied, sounding a little hoarse. Helen barely had time to react before the door was closed, and the strange man was gone.

**~0o0o0o0o0~**

"Henrik?" Edward called out, rolling his window down as he slowed to a stop on the side of the street. "Henrik! What do you think you're doing out in this weather?"

Henrik didn't seem to hear him at first- the poor man was drenched from head to toe, his hair darkened to a near-black and his coat soaked completely through. The rain had been pouring non-stop for hours on end- but Edward knew that he couldn't have been out for long. They were only a few minutes from the hospital, after all, and that must have been where Henrik had come from.

Edward knew for a fact that the other doctor didn't spend his spare time anywhere else.

"Henrik!" Edward shouted again, turning off his ignition and stepping out of his car. It was common knowledge that the other doctor had a habit of ignoring his own needs for the sake of others, but surely he'd thought to bring an umbrella? The streets had almost completely flooded, the stores closed… half the district had already lost power.

He really was mad, wasn't he?

"Edward?" Henrik questioned, seeming to shiver as he turned on the spot. His glasses were covered in tiny droplets of rain, his hair flicking stray water to the side. He shuddered in place, subconsciously folding his arms- Edward was worried about him.

"Good God, Henrik, are you insane?!" Edward exclaimed, gripping his colleague's shoulders. "You'll catch a cold in this weather- let me drive you home…"

"No." Henrik refused, shaking himself free of Edward's hold on his arm. "Look at ze roads, Edward- how can you expect to drive in zat?"

"My place is only a few miles away," Edward insisted, wrapping his hand around Henrik's arm once more. "From there I'm sure Dark could just… teleport you home, or something. Really, it's no bother-"

"I am not getting into an accident today because someone ist reckless vith their own life," Henrik huffed, standing firmly in place. "You did not see ze disaster at ze hospital, Doc- so many families coming in vith injuries, all because of crashes… if you knew vhat vas good for you, you vould not be driving either,"

Edward sighed in frustration, knowing that there was no way to get Henrik to listen to him. The German man was stubborn as a mule and unapproachable to boot- really, he should have known better than to assume Henrik would be fine with this intervention. His clothes were still soaking through, his glasses starting to fog… it was quite cold out.

I'm not leaving you out here.

Struck by a sudden revelation, Edward let go of Henrik's arm. The other man shivered despite himself, looking a little lost at the lack of contact- and he cocked his head to one side, watching morosely as Edward walked back to his car.

"Is it really so simple to get you to leave?" Henrik questioned, worried he'd said something wrong. He was tired, and cold, and wet… he wanted to snap, but he wouldn't let that happen. As much as he was opposed to letting Edward drive him anywhere, he didn't want to make his friend and fellow doctor mad at him. He was good company, when he wasn't being so insufferably worried…

"Not at all," Edward chuckled, closing his car door and locking the vehicle. He'd brought out his umbrella- a dull coloured thing, but large enough to shelter him from the rain- perhaps even large enough to shelter two.

"Oh…" Henrik uttered in realisation, letting Edward walk over to him once more. Thunder clapped above them as the rain thickened, though the sound of waterlogged grass under their feet was soon replaced with the pitter-patter of droplets bouncing away from the surface of the umbrella. Edward tugged Henrik closer to him, hooking an arm around his waist- the umbrella was just large enough for them to share it comfortably.

Edward would never say it aloud, but seeing Henrik's resolve crumble as he accepted the help was strangely gratifying. The man let out a sigh, shuffling his bag to the other shoulder and leaning subconsciously into Edward's side. Edward could feel Henrik's own arm snaking gently around his midriff, and Henrik let out a tiny sneeze, trying his best to stifle the sound. Edward felt his lips twitch into a smug smile.

"Let's go home, Hen."


End file.
